Fuse handling implement



- y 1945- N. A. HEMMERLINGQ 2,379,433

FUSE HANDLING IMPLEMENT Fi'led May 26, 1944 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS July 3, 1945.

" N. A. HEMMERLING' FUSE HANDLING IMPLEMENT 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed May 26, 1944 INVENTOR.

ATTOiF/VHS mwm NXW Patented July 3, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FUSE HANDLING IMPLEMENT Norman A.- Hemmerling, North Tonawanda, N. Y. ApplicationMay 26, 1944, Serial No. 537,415 7 Claims. (01., 294-19) This invention relates to improvements im plements for handling high tension fuses.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an implement of this kind of improved and simplified construction by means of which a fuse box door may be safely and efficiently handled. Another object of this invention is to provide an implement which is readily adaptable to operate under varying conditions and to operate on, fuse tubes or fuse box doors of different types. A fur ther object is to provide an implement of this kind by means of which a fuse box door can be grasped and at the same time held against swinging so that it can be readily removed from or placed on a fuse box.

Other objectsof this invention will appear from the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a fuse box showing an implement embodying this invention, used for opening or closing thedoor of the box.

Fig. 2 is a similar elevation thereof, showing a fuse box with the door in open position and the implement applied thereto to remove the door and fuse from the box. i

Fig. 3 shows the implement with the door and fuse removed from the box and held by the implement.

Fig. 4 is a view thereof, taken approximately on line 4-4, Fig. 1, with the implement in position to open a fuse box door.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the implement showing the same attached to the fuse .tubeof the door, the view being taken approximately along line -55, Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale,

, ofithe implement shown in Figs. 1 to 5.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional viewthereof, showing another side of the implement.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section thereof, taken approximately along line 8,-8, Fig. 6.

In Figs. 1 to 5, I have shown my improved implement used in connection with a fuse box of one particular construction, but it will be obvious that this implement may be used in connection with other types of fuse boxes or: for the removal and replacement of fuse tubes. The fuse box shown includes a housing Ill into the side of which the end of the fuse box is provided with a door I2 having a fuse tube I4 mounted thereon. through which a fusible wire l5 extends. The door 12 is hinged at its lower end to .the box. or housing sides thereof, and which are arranged to engage hook members I! on the box l0, thus permitting the door to be unhooked fromits hinged connectionwith the door by moving the door upwardly relatively to the box. The door may be yieldingly held in closed position in any suitable manner, for example, by means of a metal ferrule l8 adapted to engage a suitable clip (not shown) in the fuse box through which current is trans,- mitted. In this box, as in a 'numberof other types of boxes, the door is provided with means for indicating to an operator on the ground when the fusible wire I5 is broken or fused. These boxes are usually installed on poles or transmission towers supporting the transmission lines, but they may be used in enclosed places. It is, however, very dangerous for an operator to approach closely to the fuse, box even' when thefuse is blown, unless he is properly protected by insulating material, but the fuse box door and the fuse may be handled by means of an implement ,mounted on a relatively long pole or rod of v high tension conductors H extend. The front ID, the cover for this purpose being provided with g pintles l6 extending outwardly from opposite wood or other insulating material. Since a lineman must climb up a transmission poleor tower and manipulate the fuse box door while at a considerable distance above the ground,v it is very necessary that the implement be .so made that it may be operated safely and reliably at a distance from the operator and .itis also necessary that the implement be so made that the operator does not have to be immediately below the fuse box, so that if, the fuse box door or other part of the fuse box should drop down, it will notstrike him.

My improved implementincludes an attach ing member 24 which may be suitably secured, on one end of. the insulating poleor rod 20 in any suitable or desired. manner, the member 20 in the construction shown having a socket into which the end of the pole 20 mayenter. The implement also includes a body portion 25 which is adjustably mounted relatively to the socket member 24 for limited universal movement relatively to the socket member, so thatthe body portion may be set into various angular'relations to the pole and socket member.

In the construction shown by way of example for this purpose, 'the socket member is provided at its free end with a pair of clamping laws 21, the ends of which are formed to receive a substantially cylindrical part 28 of a connecting member 29. This cylindrical member may be provided on its peripheral surface with an arcuate slot 30 and a bolt 3! may pass through the jaws 21 to clamp them into frictional gripping engagement with the cylindricalor hinge part 28 of the connecting member 29. The bolt also enters into the arcuate slot to hold the cylindri cal part 28 against endwise movement relatively to the gripping jaws.

A somewhat similar connection is provided at the other end of the connecting member with the body portion 25, the connecting member being provided with a substantially cylindrical part 33 which extends in a direction substantially at a right angle to the cylindrical part 28 at the other end of the connecting member. "The body portion 25 is provided-with a pair of'jaws 34, the ends of which-are shaped to cooperate with the cylindrical portion 33 of the connecting member, and this cylindrical portion is-preferably also provided with an arcuate slot 35. A bolt 36 connects the two jaws for securing' them into gripping relation to the cylindrical member 33- and extends into the arcuate slot '35 to'hold the cylindrical member against endwise movement By means of these pivotal connections at the ends of the connecting member, auniversal joint is provided so that the body portion"25may be arranged in various angular irelations'to' the rod and'the bolts are preferably tightened onlyto such an extent that the. angular relation 'of the body portion to the pole may be effected manually without releasing the bolts 31 .and '36.

The body ortion is provided near the outer end thereof with a recess 40 of, substanclosed position in full lines, and in open position in broken lines. Similarly the hook may be tially semi-circular form, the open side of this recess being arranged at a side of the body portion .25. Therecess in the constructionshown is formedby a substantiallyhook-shaped portion M of the body-portion 25. Preferably, thishookshapedportion has at the extreme outer 'end thereof a laterally extending arm or projection 42, the purpose, of which will be. hereinafter explained. The extreme end of the hook-shaped portion .is formed to taper or converge inwardly toward the open end of the recess, as indicated at 43. The hook-shaped portion is of tapering form,..as. clearly shown in 'Eig. 3, having Sides 44 which converge toward the outer end of the body portion.

.lIhev body. portion has aho'ok member pivotally mounted-.thereonin such manner that the back of the hook extends across the open side of the recess 40 of. the body portion and is yieldingly urgedinto. position closing the. open end. Any suitable construction .may be provided for. this purpose,..and inthe .construction illustrated by way: of example, .thebody portion 25 is provided inter-mediateofthe ends. thereof with alslot or openingfiior receiving a part of .the shank of 5 a.hool-r-member 46. This'shank has a lug'4'l' which extendsintotheslot "45 and which is pivoted to the body portion 25 by means of a pivot pin .or rivet 48. The hook-46is so arranged relativelyto the body portion thatthe back end of thehook-extends across andsubstantially closes theopen end oftherecess 40in the bodyportion. The outer end of the hook is rounded, as shown at. 49,-and. aportionof this rounded end of the hook cooperates with the inwardly curved end- 43 of thebody portion .to form a recess in the-outer :GIld Of. the implement into which the fuse tube l4 .of the fuse. box may partly enter as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

'I'hehook 464s yieldingly urged. into position to close the open .end. of therecess 40 of the. body portion, and this may be. accomplished in any suitable-manner, forexample, by providing the hook member with a shank 5| which extends into the opening45 of the body portion and against which one end of a leaf spring 52 bears, the other end of the leaf. spring being secured by means of a screw 53 to the body portion of the implement. The outer end 49 of the hook .46 is preferably approximately on a transverse line with the outer end of the projection 42 of the body portion, for reasons which will be explained later.

In the use of the implement, the hook 46 may, of course, be used for grasping the loop or eye 55 formed-on the door 12 of the fuse box and for pulling this door into open position, as shown in Fig. 1, in which the door is shown in used for closing the door.

" Whenthe doorisin open position and hanging downwardly, .the..implement may be moved into engagement with the fuse tube l4 by pressing theireces's between the hook 46 and the body portion into engagement with the fuse tube I4, as shown in Fig." 6. By pressing the implement against the fusetube; the pivoted hook49 will moveon its pivot against the action of the spring 52 so as to 'op'enlthe recess and. permit the fuse tube to e'nter'thesame. When the fuse tube is'in the recess, the'hook will swing back approximately into the position shown in Fig. 5, thus firmly gripping thexfuse tube. The door may then be lifted outof engagementwith its hinges, and

thus removed "fromthe :fuse box so'that a new fusible member 15 may be inserted.

When the'fuse box door is to be replaced, the fusetube is again moved into therecess4fl, whereupon'the door supported by the implement is again connected with the hinge hooksl'l of the box.

When the implement "is in engagement with the fuse tube, the -fuse bo-x door can .be easily positioned as desired in relation to thefuse .box and the door is prevented .from swinging .relatively to the implement by means of the outermostend ofthe book 46 of the outer face of the lateral projection 42 of the body portion of the implement. This projection and the end of the hook will extend into close proximity :or. engage the inner face of the fuse box door when the implement is in place thereon, as shown in Figs. .2, 3 and 5, so that the swinging ofthe door about the'fuse tube .is materially limited, whichaids greatly in the ease with which'the door may be manipulated.

When the door is hangingfrom'its hinges, the implementis disconnected from the fuse tube, this being preferably done by twisting the implement in either direction so that the body portion and the hook are :moved from. the broken line position shown in Fig, 8 to the full line position. This twisting'forces the hook '46 to swing about its pivot 48, to open widely the recess 40, and one or the other of the'tapered faces 44 of the implement will, consequently, urge the implement out of engagement with the fuse tube 14. Consequently, by twisting the implement, it will either disengage'itself from the fuse tube, or it may be moved out of engagement therewith by a slight pull. It will be noted that the back end 51 of the .ho'ok'is preferably made of somewhat greater Width'than other portions thereof, which will help in 'disconnectingthe implementfrom a fuse tube. By making the hooked part 4! of thebody portion fairly wide, the fuse tube will be securely held by the implement.

After .the implement has been disconnected from the fuse tube, the-hook '46 thereof may closed position.

again engage the eye 55 of the fuse box door, or this eye may be engaged by the projection 42 for swinging the door about its hinges into Since the operator or user of the implement must remain at a considerable distance from the fuse box, and must manipulate the implement entirely by means of the pole 20, it will be obvious that it is of great importance that the implement be so formed as to operate with ease, since otherwise an employee is apt to take a chance and approach too closely to the fuse box with the possibility that he may be electrocuted.

Bymeans of the implement described, it is a very easy matter to attach the implement to a fuse tube and to manipulate the door of the fuse box in any manner necessary. Also with other types of fuse boxes in which the fuse tube itself is removed, it will be obvious that this implement may be used to good advantage, since the tube will be securely grasped and held by the implement for removal'from a fuse box, and when a fuse is positioned in a fuse box by means of the implement, the, implement may be easily released from the fuse tube by merely turning or exerting a. twisting force on the implement. Since the fuse boxes may be arranged in various relations to the poles or other devices on which they may be mounted, it is obviously of great advantage to have the body portion of the implement connected to its pole by 'means of a universal joint, so that the body portion of the implement may be arranged at any desired angular relation to the pole 20, and frictionally retained in such relation. In order to prevent damage to the spring 52 by excessive swinging of the hook 46, a stop pin 6c is preferably employed, which extends across the slot 45 in the body portion to engage the shank iii of the hook.

I claim as my invention:

v1. A fuse handling implement for use in connection with high tension fuses, including a shank portion to which a rod of insulating material may be connected, a body portion mounted on said shank portion and having an open-sided recess on one side thereof adjacent to the end thereof, a hook member pivotally mounted on said body portion with its back arranged to close the open side of said recess, and means for yieldingly urging said hook member into position to close said recess.

2. A fuse handling implement for use in connection with high tension fuses, including a shank portion to which a rod of insulating material maybe connected, a body portion mounted on said shank portion and having an' open-sided recess on one side thereof adjacent .to the end thereof, and shaped to receive a fuse tube, a hook member pivotally mounted on said body portion with its back arranged to close the open end of said recess and to yieldingly-hold a fuse tube in said recess.

3. A fuse handling implement for use in connection with high tension fuses, including a shank portion to .which a rod of insulating material may be connected, a body portion mounted on said shank portion and having an open-sided, substantially circular recess in one side thereof adjacent to the end of said body portion, a hook member pivotally mounted on said body portion with its back arranged to close the open side of said recess, and means for yieldingly urging said hook member into position to close said recess.

4. An implement for handling high tensionfuses and comprising a body portion adapted to be secured to a rod of insulating material and having one side thereof adjacent to its end formed with a substantially semi-circular opensided recess, a hook pivoted on said bodyportion and having the back thereof arranged across said open end of said recess and yieldingly urged into a position to close said open end, said hook being movable by a fuse tube into position to permit a fuse tube to enter said recess.

5. An implement for handling high tension fuses, including a body portion mounted on a rod of insulating material and having an openended recess in a side thereof adjacent to the end of said body portion and into which a fuse tube may enter, and a hook member pivotally mounted on said body portion with its back to- I ward the open end of said recess, yielding means for urging said hook member toward said recess for gripping a fuse tube, and a lateral projection on the end of said body portion, said extension on the outer end of said hook member lying approximately in the same transverse plane to prevent swinging of a fuse box door relatively to a fuse tube when the fuse tube is gripped in said recess, the outer end of said hook and the portion of said body portion adjacent to said recess flaring inwardly toward each other to facilitate the entry of said fuse tube into said recess.

6. An implement for handlingv high tension fuses and comprising a body portion having a longitudinally extending central slot and having a substantially semi-circular hooked end portion,

said hooked end portion having an open face opening at a side of said body portion, a hook member having its back facing the open side of said hooked end portion of said frame member and pivoted in said slot, and meanson said body portion yieldingly urging said hook member into position toclose said open side, said hook member being movable from said open side of said hooked end portion to permit a fuse tube to enter said open side. r

'7. A fuse handling implement for use in connection with high tension fuses, including a shank portion to which'a rod of insulating material I may be connected, a body portion mounted on said shank portion and having an open-sided recess on one side thereof adjacent to the end thereof, a hook member pivotally mounted on said body portion with its back arranged to close the open side of said recess, means for yieldingly urging said hook member into position to close said recess, and a universal joint connection between said body portion and said shank portion to enable said body portion to be moved into different angular relations to said shank-portion.

NORMAN A. HEMMERLING. 

